Raising Eclipse
by ReporterDigs
Summary: Black Doom has to take leave from Hell, but he needs someone to babysit his son Eclipse. Having no trust in those in Hell; he decides to find some land dwellers that have a debt to repay. Unfortunately, those two unlucky souls happen to be Tails and Knuckles. How will they ever control the demon child?
1. Welcome to Hell

**Author's Notes:**

_This is the first story I have ever written for fanfiction. The first chapter is a little slow, but the later ones do have some more plot and laughs in them. Please review if you have any comments to say or find any errors that I should fix._

* * *

The bright summer sun shined down on Tails' Workshop. Tails had been working on a new airplane that could fit two members in the cockpit. Sonic had starting complaining about always being on the wing, so Tails thought this new design would please his azure friend. He had been wrenching on the plane for a week now.

Tails wiped the sweat off of his forehead while standing back to admire his work. "Almost finished!" he cheered. "Sonic will be so happy when he sees my improvements."

The fox was picking up some different tools off his table when a star shaped shadow was cast over him. He dropped his tools on the ground and quickly turned to see the cause of the sudden shade. There was nothing behind him. He looked up and saw a pentagonal cloud had briefly covered the sun. "Heh, I don't know why I'm so jumpy," said Tails turning back to his work table.

"Wahh!" the fox screamed. A black starfish was hovering above his table.

"Hello, young fox," the starfish hummed.

"Black Doom? Why are you here?" the confused fox questioned.

"My being here is not of importance. I came here to collect repayment."

"Repayment?" the fox was dumbfounded. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"You insolent fox," Black Doom scoffed. "Some time ago you wanted to get nuclear power for one of your inventions. You failed at obtaining it commercially and made a contract with me so you could purchase your goods off the black market."

"Oh, yeah, that contract," mumbled the fox.

"Yes indeed. Now it is time for you to repay me. I am taking a leave from Hell and am in need of a babysitter for my son."

"You want me to watch over your demon child? You can't expect me to do that alone!" the fox became spastic.

"Calm yourself!" Black Doom slapped the fox's cheek with a tentacle. "I suppose this task would require more than one person. I will find you a partner to watch over my son."

The fox rubbed his cheek and groaned. "Alright, when do I go to Hell?"

The dark starfish chuckled, "Now is about the right time."

After those words were spoken, flames appeared from the ground and formed a square on the now scorched earth. An elevator rose from the burnt grass and opened its doors for passengers. Tails stepped inside and pressed the only selection on the button grid: Hell.

"I will find your partner as you journey to my lair in Hell. The elevator will take you directly to it, so you couldn't possibly get lost," the starfish explained.

"Wait!" Tails shouted to stop the dark lord, "What is your son's name?"

"Eclipse the Darkling is his name."

* * *

Black Doom set off to a remote island to find Tails' babysitting partner. He knew a certain red echidna that who was indebted to him there. The dark lord hovered onto the ancient ruins that held the Master Emerald. His presence triggered an alarm in the echidna's senses.

"Who goes there?" the red echidna strongly called out to the intruder.

"Hello, my feeble minded slave." Black Doom hatefully said.

"What is your purpose here, you overgrown bug?" Knuckles replied with anger.

"You have a debt to repay and I came to collect."

"What debt? I have no such thing," the hotheaded echidna claimed.

"Oh, but you do."

"Oh, but I don't," Knuckles mocked.

"You so do."

"I so don't."

"Remember when you were in Central City and saw a fantastic, brand new-"

"Stop talking!" the echidna interrupted him, "I remember now."

"Good," hummed the dark one, "You will return to Hell with me and babysit my son while I am on a leave."

"You want me to be a babysitter? You must be joking!" Knuckles laughed.

"The King of Darkness does not joke," Black Doom stolidly said.

"Fine, send me down then."

"It would be my pleasure to do so," the dark one replied and a vacant elevator opened on the ruins to take the echidna down under. The echidna stepped inside with the dark one and the doors closed shut. The elevator began to fall slowly at first, but then became much faster. Knuckles' body began to give way at the strong amount of G-forces. His body flew onto the top of the machine and was spread out on the ceiling. His face was stretching apart while the elevator rang bells and the numbers dropped drastically on the monitor.

The elevator crashed with a bang into the dark home of Black Doom. Knuckles' flattened body peeled off the ceiling and slowly floated to the ground as the doors opened with a ding. Tails grabbed Knuckles by the dreads and flicked him out like how one would flick a towel to remove water. After a few flicks, Knuckles body came into the third dimension and he stood next to the fox.

"Tails, why are you here?" the echidna tilted his head in confusion.

"I, like you, also have a debt to the dark lord. You and I will both watch over Eclipse until his return from leave."

"Now that you have your partner, I will be off on my way," Black Doom teleported out of sight and left the two alone in his mansion with no more explanations. A piece of paper fell from the spot Black Doom teleported. Tails picked up the piece and examined it.

"This is a schedule for Eclipse's day. It also has a number to call in case of an emergency." Tails spoke towards Knuckles.

"I guess we really are babysitters," Knuckles brushed the back of his head with his hands.

"Let's go find Eclipse and introduce ourselves," Tails suggested. Knuckles nodded and followed behind Tails as they walked up the stair case of the giant mansion.


	2. Meeting Eclipse

"This place is huge!" Tails gawked in amazement. The palace was five floors which included the basement and attic. The royal headquarters of Hell spared no expense when it came to construction. The spiral staircase they were walking on must have been many years of work, for its complicated designs were dazzling. The metallic cold of the railing sent chills up their spines. While this palace was stunning, it was still the center of Hell.

The pair walked up to the second floor of the palace. "The note Black Doom left us says Eclipse's room is at the end of the great hall on the second floor," read Tails.

"That must be the great hall then," Knuckles pointed forward onto a large hallway filled with priceless pieces of art. There must have been hundreds of paintings and sculptures in the hall before them. All of the works were of or relating to Hell. They walked down the hallway turning their heads to examine the place.

Knuckles was not paying attention and bumped into a suit of armor. The armor rocked back and forth and crashed loudly on the ground.

"Knuckles!" Tails shouted in surprise of the loud noise. "You need to be more careful in this palace!"

"Hey, don't blame me for that! That knight in shining armor should have watched where he was walking." Knuckles shook his fist at the lifeless suit.

"That suit is empty, Knuckles. It is for aesthetic appeal." Tails sighed.

"Aesthetic? Why does a mansion need reduce its chance of infection?"

Tails looked at the echidna with blank eyes. "Are you thinking of antiseptic?"

"Tomato, tomato. Let's just find this prince of darkness, okay?" Knuckles stepped over the suit and walked forward to the giant door at the end of the hall.

Tails followed behind his red friend to a closed room. The pair heard muffled metal music playing through the door. They looked at each other and Tails motioned for Knuckles to knock. Knuckles eagerly knocked on the door and shouted, "Hey, Eclipse! It's your new babysitters! Come out and say hello!"

The door was silent for a few moments and then the sound of chains unhooking and locks unlocking were heard. The door creaked open and a teenage Eclipse held it open with one arm. "So, my dad hired you two losers to watch me?"

Knuckles sneered at the boy. "How dare that demon insult me," he thought. "I'll show him loser."

"Losersayswhat?" Knuckles blurted out what seemed to be gibberish.

"Huh? I couldn't understand that," said Eclipse looking at the red one.

"Losersayswhat?" Knuckles repeated with more infliction to the end.

"I still can't get that."

"Losersayswhat?" Knuckles leaned in closer to the prince.

"What?" Eclipse became uncomfortable with this closeness.

"Ha! Now who's the loser?" Knuckles cheered at his accomplishment.

"Ugh, whatever." Eclipse sighed and began to shut the door.

"Hold on!" Tails stopped the door with his foot. "My name is Tails and this is Knuckles. Your father asked us to watch you while he is on leave."

"Yeah, I know," Eclipse shot, "He told me he was going to get someone, but I didn't expect it to be some two."

"Well two heads are better than one, right?" Tails looked at the prince.

"Yeah I suppose so," Eclipse rolled his eyes.

"Your father gave me your schedule for the week, and it says tomorrow you have a football game to play tomorrow after school." Tails stated.

"Yes I do. You guys need to pick me up from school and take me to the sporting goods store so we can buy a new helmet for the game. My old one broke in a rough game we played earlier this month." Eclipse pointed to the paper in Tails' hands. "You should probably write this down."

Tails pulled out a pen from his bag and scribbled the information onto the paper.

"Okay! Now won't forget it!" Tails clicked the pen and placed it back into his bag.

Eclipse went to close the door again when another foot brought it to a halt.

"Where do we sleep in this joint? Your dad never told us where our rooms are," Knuckles questioned the teenager.

Eclipse set a foot out of the door and pointed to the staircase. "Go up the stairs to the attic. He put two guest beds up there for you guys. A bathroom is up there too."

"Thanks," Knuckles spat out his reply.

"Dummysayswhat?" Eclipse mocked.

"What?" Knuckles looked at the teen quickly.

"Ha! You're so gullible," the prince laughed at Knuckles' foolishness.

The door closed shut and the two babysitters walked to the stairs with their luggage. They had to climb another two flights up to get to the attic.

Knuckles reached the top of the stairs first and threw his luggage forward into the attic. He fell to his arms and knees and breathed heavily. "Tails? Where are you Tails?" he cried out for his friend.

"I'm almost to the top," Tails replied.

Tails flew up the staircase with his rotor-like tails. He landed his feet softly on the ground and his bags followed.

"C'mon Knuckles," he looked at his new roommate. "It was not that bad of a trip up here."

"Easy to say when you flew!"

Knuckles stood up and looked around the attic room. There were two, twin sized beds in the medium sized room. An empty dresser separated the two beds. A night stand was on the other side of each bed. Tails set his bags atop the bed to the right side of the room. He clicked open his luggage bags and neatly took out his folded clothes to put them into the dresser.

Knuckles tossed his luggage onto his bed to the left and dumped its contents out on the mattress. He wadded his clothes into a ball and stuffed it into the unused dresser drawers.

Tails looked over at Knuckles. He was sprawled out on his bed with his tongue hanging out. "I guess we probably should get some sleep," Tails said.

Knuckles let out an agreeing groan as a response. Tails put on his pajamas and slid under the covers of his temporary bed. "Good night, Knuckles," Tails called out.

"Night, Tails," Knuckles said back, unchanging his fixed position.

Tails pulled the cord on his lap to shut it off and rested his head upon the pillow. Tomorrow was their first day of real babysitting.


	3. A Learning Experience

An alarm from a high-tech phone erupted in the attic in Hell's Palace. Tails' eyes sprung open and he grabbed the phone in his hand to silence the alarm. Tails removed his covers, gently rising his body to sit on the bed. He stretched and yawned quietly with somber eyes, and then he realized his situation.

Tails' pupils dilated to nothingness and he let out a silent scream. He did not have a nightmare; he really was in Hell. On top of that, he was set to babysit Black Doom's son.

"K-K-Knuckles," Tails stuttered. He looked over to his side and saw an unmade bed with sheets hanging off it. He remembered Knuckles was here, so where did he go?

"Knuckles!" Tails shouted with his hands around his mouth to increase the sound.

"What are you yelling about, Tails?" Knuckles opened the bathroom door only wearing a towel and shaving cream on his face.

"Are we really here? Here in Hell?" Tails inquired his friend.

"Yeah, duh, Tails. You might want to get up and make breakfast for the three of us because I'm not going to do it." Knuckles took a razor to his face which removed the white foam. Tails rose from his bed, and walked towards the bathroom. The shower had a mechanical mechanism that was unrecognizable to him.

"How did you turn this on, Knuckles?" Tails pointed to the shower.

"Oh, I couldn't figure it out. I just got a cloth and washed my body in the sink." Knuckles still continued shaving his face.

Tails stuck out his tongue and pointed to it with his index finger while making a gagging noise. Knuckles ignored his disgusted remark.

"I'm going to go wake up Eclipse. His school bus comes at 8:00," said Knuckles as he wiped his face, finished with his shaving.

Knuckles walked out of the attic and Tails stayed examining the shower's mechanics. Knuckles sat down on the railing of the spiral stairs and pushed off from the wall. He slid down one flight, but he lost his balance shortly after that. His body flung onto the stairs and rolled into a ball. Rolling down the stairs, he became queasy. In order to stop his roll, he stuck out his hand to grab the railing of the second floor. However, this maneuver did not stop his momentum, but rather, changed his velocity. His balled body took a right turn and bowled its way down the great hall.

On the way down, Knuckles hit that same suit of armor as he did yesterday. The armor ricocheted his body to a table in the hall. Like a ball in a pinball machine, Knuckles body was hitting other furniture in the hall and bouncing to other ones. His screams and body were loudly approaching the door.

A final hit to a grandfather clock hit Knuckles at an angle that sent him to Eclipse's door. Eclipse had woken because of the noise and opened one side of his double doors. "What is all this noise about?" Eclipse said into the hallway.

"Watch out!" Knuckles screamed as he was rolling post-haste to the doors of Eclipse's room. He hit the closed door with a thud which unrolled his body. Sitting against the door, Knuckles head began to spin with Chaos Emeralds rotating around his noggin.

"If you wanted to wake me up," said Eclipse, "you could have just knocked."

Knuckles shook his head to get his equilibrium back. He stood up next to the door. "Tails should have breakfast made by now," he said. "Let's head downstairs and eat."

Knuckles and Eclipse walked down the steps and into the dining room. A window was in the wall between the kitchen and dining room. Tails wore an apron that read "KISS THE COOK." It seemed that he had already prepared some food for the three of them. Eggs and bacon, toast, and orange juice to drink were set on three spots around the dining table.

"Wow, Tails! This smells delicious!" Knuckles sniffed the heavenly aroma of his breakfast.

"My dad never made me breakfast before," Eclipse muttered.

"Well I should be able to make home cooked meals each night for us. I'm sure some nights we might eat out though," Tails smiled at the prince.

"Don't forget that-"

"We have to pick you up from school to get you a new helmet," Tails finished Eclipse's sentence for him.

Knuckles put all of his strips of bacon in his mouth. "Tails never forgets anything," he said with his mouth full.

"That flattery won't improve your table manners, Knuckles."

Knuckles coughed. "Sorry."

Eclipse took the bottle of Devil's Crotch hot sauce from the table and applied it to his eggs. Tails sat down in his spot at the table between Knuckles and Eclipse. Tails ate a bite of toast and looked to Eclipse.

"So what school do you attend?" Tails asked.

"Black Arms High School for Demons," he answered.

"What classes are you taking?" Knuckles questioned.

"Dark Arts II, Speech, Mixed Martial Arts III, Advanced Leadership, and Advanced Calculus," Eclipse listed his classes to his babysitters.

"Sounds like a busy day!" cheered Tails. Knuckles nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, well, I should get going. My bus will be here shortly," said Eclipse.

"Okay! Your backpack and binder are on the table next to the door," Tails pointed to the teen's belongings.

Eclipse slid his chair backward, walked to the door, grabbed his supplies, and left through the main entrance. Tails picked up all of their plates and silverware to be put into the dishwasher. Knuckles rose and spoke to Tails while stretching his arms.

"I think I'm going to take a look around the house."

"Try not to get lost," Tails warned, "this place is ginormous."

Knuckles waved a hand in confirmation as he was walking up the steps. He glanced at the great hall and noticed the suit of armor was untouched. Didn't he knock it over yesterday and then again this morning? He did not see Eclipse pick it back up, so how was it still standing? Knuckles shrugged and continued to the third floor of the palace.

* * *

Tails was doing some light reading in the lounge of the palace. Another alarm went off on his phone and he checked the time. If Knuckles and he were to pick up Eclipse, they should get going now.

"Knuckles!" Tails yelled out into the home. "It is time to go get Eclipse!"

"I'm on my way down now!" Knuckles yelled back.

Tails walked to the front door of the palace. Knuckles joined him shortly and they walked outside. To their surprise, Hell was actually a lot like Earth. The only difference was that the sky was a fiery orange and the ground a deep purple. Black Doom had left Tails with car keys to the King's car. Tails unlocked the doors and they stepped inside the long, black car.

"This car is like a mortician's car," Knuckles noted.

"I'm pretty sure it is one," Tails said as he put the car in gear. He drove out of the driveway and started up the GPS in the car to get to the high school. It was only a ten minute drive to there.

They pulled up into the parking lot of the school and waited for Eclipse to walk outside. Eclipse walked alone out of the building and looked around for the car. He spotted Tails waving from the driver's side walked to the car. Tails noticed the prince was wearing sunglasses that he didn't have when he left. Eclipse entered the backseat of the car and clicked his seatbelt.

"Why are you wearing sunglasses?" asked Tails.

"I don't know what you are talking about," the prince replied.

"Right there on your face is a pair of sunglasses," commented Knuckles.

"I seriously don't know what you are talking about," the prince was adamant.

"Let me see the sunglasses," said Knuckles.

"No," Eclipse was being blunt.

"Let me see those sunglasses now," Knuckles commanded.

"Nope," Eclipse shook his head.

"I said let me see them!" Knuckles lunged his hands back into the backseat to grab the sunglasses off Eclipse's face. Eclipse moved his head and body around the backseat in order to dodge Knuckles movements. Knuckles unhooked his seatbelt and crawled back into the backseat. He wrestled Eclipse and the sunglasses flung off his face revealing a swollen, black eye.

"What happened to you, Eclipse?" Tails had concern in his voice.

"Nothing," he shouted. "Let's just go."

"Did someone do this to you? Who was it?" Knuckles questioned the young teen in his grasp.

"Just forget about it," Eclipse looked away from the two babysitters.

Tails saw a group of delinquent demons pointing and laughed at the car.

"Was it one of those boys?" Tails asked Eclipse.

Eclipse gave a solemn nod. Tails undid his seat belt and opened the car door. He slammed it shut and stomped his way to the boys.

"Which one of you hurt Eclipse?" Tails asked the group.

"Huh, who are you? His babysitter?" the demons laughed at the alpha demon's wisecrack.

"Yes, I am," Tails answered, "and so is he." Tails motioned to Knuckles who was leaning against the car punched his hand with his spiked fist. Knuckles locked his jaw in order to intimidate the demons.

"Oh I'm so scared," the alpha cried. "What are you guys going to do? Cuddle me to death?" His demon friends laughed again at his remark. Tails embarrassingly walked away from the demons. He had no good comebacks to give.

"Do not mess with Eclipse again or it will be your last," Knuckles yelled to the demons as he closed his door.

"Let's get you that new helmet," said Tails. The car's engine roared and left the parking lot of the school onto the street.

The three returned home after getting the proper headgear for Eclipse's football game. Tails unlocked the door and let the other inside. He set the helmet on the table next to Eclipse's school supplies.

"I will get dinner started," Tails said to the boys.

Eclipse ran up the stairs and went to his room. Knuckles looked at Tails for his reaction, but one was not given for he already started cooking. Knuckles decided to approach Eclipse to see if he was okay.

Knuckles calmly walked down the great hall and knocked on Eclipse's doors.

"Go away," Eclipse said through the barrier between them.

"We need to talk, Eclipse," Knuckles said.

"There is nothing to talk about," Eclipse said in a whiny voice with periodic sniffs.

"Are you crying?" asked Knuckles.

Another sniff and a cough were heard. "No," he replied.

"Listen Eclipse," Knuckles began, "I'm sorry I took your sunglasses. It wasn't right for me to invade your privacy like I did. I know better, but I am just worried about you, you know?"

Eclipse gave no response.

"I know you are upset, so we can talk when you are ready," Knuckles said to the teen. "Dinner should be finished soon, if you are hungry."

Knuckles walked down the hall and descended the stairs back to the first floor. He sat down at the table and scooted his chair into the proper position. Tails set plates of hot food down in front of the three seats.

"Did you go get Eclipse?" wondered Tails.

"Yeah, I told him he can come down when he is ready."

"Do you think he is upset about what happened at school today?"

"Probably. I think that he is-" Knuckles stopped when he heard footsteps behind him from the staircase. Eclipse slowly walked toward the dining table and sat down. He picked up his fork and picked at his food. The three of them ate their dinners in silence: two in fear to upset the other, and one too afraid to talk.

The boys finished their meals and Tails picked up all the plates as he did this morning. Eclipse rose and walked to the stairs. He stopped a few steps up and opened his mouth to speak.

"Hey," he called to the babysitters. "Thanks for, you know, today."

Knuckles and Tails looked at Eclipse and then each other. Did they really just get a thank you from the prince of darkness and evil? Tails spoke first.

"Well you are welcome," he said. "No one deserves to get bullied."

"That's right," Knuckles nodded. "You tell us if it happens again and we will fix it."

"Okay. I'll keep that in mind," said the darkling. He walked up the stairs soon he was to his room. Knuckles waited for Tails to finish with the dishes and they walked to their attic room. Tails put on his pajamas and rested his body into the bed.

"Tomorrow is his football game," Tails reminded Knuckles.

"Yep," Knuckles yawned. "I guess we will be there to cheer him on."

The two said their goodnights and went to sleep, anxious to see a Hellish football game.


	4. Dark Castle

All of Hell Castle's most valuable tenants were peacefully sleeping in their beds. Eclipse was in his small, but still comfortable twin bed. His sheets had a dark flame design with red pillow cases and orange sheets. His head rested peacefully on his soft feather pillows. The feathers radiated heat (which is preferable to demons) because they were pure phoenix feathers. Eclipse needed to get all the sleep he could tonight, for he had a very dire football game tomorrow.

Eclipse was somewhat petite when compared to other demons on his team. His small body and quick feet made him the perfect candidate for the wide receiver position. He almost had to miss his next game, but luckily, Tails and Knuckles were able to take him to the store. He had come to find his new babysitters quite helpful. His helmet did not break during one of his games. Everyone knows those helmet are made of some tough material, and Eclipse usually never gets tackled. It was after his last game, in the parking lot, waiting for his dad to get him, when his helmet was broken.

Eclipse was sitting on a bench outside of his school's football stadium. He had told his dad approximately what time the game would end, and now he was waiting for his arrival. Eclipse kicked his feet back and forth while sitting on the bench. His head was held down looking at the motion of his legs. The darkness of the night did not bother Eclipse. He had always liked the dark for no one could see him and vice versa.

This theory proved to be wrong when a pack of demon peers were striding toward him. Eclipse had recognized them, and was more than familiar with the leader. He has been bullying Eclipse since the first day of school. Eclipse had never bothered the other demon; he was just a quiet prince in public high school.

"Oh look who it is," the demon had reached Eclipse and was speaking to his pack. "Eclipse: Prince of Hell."

"What do you want from me now?" Eclipse groaned. He did not want any trouble tonight. He was tired from the hard game he played and wanted to go home.

"Oh sorry to bother you, your highness," the demon spoke sarcastically. "My friends and I were just wondering if you are to become some king, then why are you such a wimp?" The demon and his pack laughed at Eclipse. Eclipse crossed his arms and pulled them into his self. He really wished his dad would be there to pick him up soon.

"Well seeing as how you are such a wimp," the demon began, "you don't really need this helmet, do you? After all, you don't ever leave your grand palace."

The demon swiped the helmet from Eclipse's sport bag. Eclipse shouted at him to drop it and was trying to reach for it, but the demon was taller than he and juggled the helmet around in his hands.

"Drop it now, please!" Eclipse pleaded with the demon. He was in no mood to deal with this.

"Oh, yes, your highness," the demon smirked and threw it to one of his much larger, stronger associates. The big demon put the helmet between his hands and squeezed the helmet. Under such heavy pressure, the helmet cracked though the middle. The big demon threw it down to the ground and it rolled in front of Eclipse's feet.

Eclipse dropped to his knees and lifted his helmet up to him. The helmet meant his entire football career to him. Yes he knew he could get another, but the memories had been crushed along with the helmet. Eclipse's eyes became blurry with tears. He tried to hold back his weakness, but his eyelids were no dams. The demons laughed hysterically at Eclipse's crying. They had reduced him to that of a child.

The demons trotted off into the night, leaving Eclipse alone to wait. He sat onto the bench again with the broken helmet resting in his lap. His father's car finally arrived to return him home. Eclipse opened the passenger door and entered the vehicle. Black Doom had asked what had happened to his helmet to which he said a bad tackle during the game. They scheduled a time to get a new one the next morning.

* * *

Up some floors in the attic, Tails and Knuckles were resting for tomorrow's game as well. Tails had his covers tucked neatly around his body to seal in the heat. The attic had a chilly draft that was due to the lack of insulation and stone foundation. Tails yawned and flipped over to his other side to get more comfortable. Just then after, a heart-shattering crash and came from the floors below. Tails popped up from his mild sleep and called out to his red companion.

"Knuckles! Did you here that?"

"Yeah I did. What do you think it was?"

"I have no idea! It sounded like metal crashing to the floor," Tails said rubbing a finger on his chin.

"I'm going to go investigate. You should stay here and get back to bed," Knuckles commanded.

"No argument here," Tails flipped over and rolled back into his covers.

Knuckles sighed and shook his head. He knew Tails had some cowardice, but it was just a loud noise in an empty mansion-castle-palace that belonged to the king of Hell in Hell. Maybe it was a bit more frightening that Knuckles lead on to believe. The red echidna pulled off his blankets and set his feet onto the ground. He reached into Tails' bag to grab a flashlight and a cellphone. There was also a nice brown overcoat jacket hanging in the closet that he decided to wear. The castle was colder at night making a jacket almost a necessity.

The door to the attic creaked open. Knuckles turned on his flashlight and slowly walked down the stairs. The stone stairs gave each of Knuckles footsteps a rocky sound. He continued down to the floor Eclipse's room was located. If a strange sound was coming from anywhere, it had to be from the only other person in the castle. Knuckles shimmied down the great hall with his flashlight still activated. He panned the light to the sides of the hall to see if anything was out of place. None of the paintings seemed to be out of place, all of the table and chairs were standing correctly, and the chandlers were still dangling from the ceiling.

Knuckles panned down from the top to his right and he saw what was absent. The suit of armor he had bumped into and then rolled into was absent from the hallway. Knuckles took out his cellphone and took a picture of the missing knight. He figured he could show it to Tails later so he had hard evidence to back his story up. The camera flashed a bright light to take its picture. The shutter sound played after the shot was taken. Knuckles thought the sound was odd. To him, it sounded like a sword scrapping off the ground. Knuckles checked the side of the phone and saw that it had been set to silent mode.

Knuckles turned around to see where the sound had come from. The suit of armor had appeared on the other side of the hallway. It must have just lifted its sword off the floor to attack. The knight ran toward Knuckles with the sword held tightly in its hand. Knuckles could not move for he was petrified with fear. Not even a simple scream could escape his lungs as the knight came closer to thrusting the sword onto him.

Knuckles jumped up from his bed. His heart was racing and had a cold sweat on his forehead. His breathing was reduced to heavy panting as his eyes were wide open looking around the room.

"Knuckles? Are you okay?" Tails asked languidly.

"Yeah I'm okay. I-I guess I just had a bad dream or something," Knuckles rubbed the sweat off his face.

"Oh, okay. You might want to get back to bed; we have a big game to go to tomorrow," Tails recommended to his freshly awoken friend.

"Right, I don't want to miss that demon game some bad dream," said the determined Knuckles. He rested back onto his guest bed and relaxed himself to go back to sleep.


End file.
